A Darker Corner
by popcornsutton
Summary: Thing's are never easy in life, especially when they spiral out of control before you're even born. But as shikamaru Nara's going to find out, life doesn't have an option to sit on the side lines. Slightly AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

If Orochimaru had learned anything from the past five day it was that being the Hokage was not as glories as his predecessor had made it out to be. In the span of seven hours life in the village hidden in the leaves had come to a screeching halt. It had started simple enough, a trade agreement with the village hidden in the mist, nothing dangerous about that, until a border disagreement arouse, all about which side of the border a tiny island with one small fishing village lay. One thing lead to another and before Orochimaru's very eyes he watched as politics transformed a border dispute about an island nether side cared about to a full out war.

An so just like that, two years of bloodshed and death fell upon the two waring nations as the reason for fighting moved from an island nether nation used to avenging the death of comrades and loved ones alike. But as it always had and as Orochimaru was sure it would again, the will of fire that burned in the heart of all Konoha shinobi had burned a path of destruction to the very outskirts of Kirigakure itself. Victory was close and if things went as planed Konohagakure would not only end the war but end Kirigakure as well. Of cores thing rarely went as planed and with the smell of victory thick in the air, a mistake happed, one little tiny mistake and just like that Kushina Uzumaki, wife of Minato Namikaze and villages resident Jinchūriki, was pregnant.

When it came to Jinchūriki most everything was complicated and it seemed that birth-and the stress it placed on the seal-was no different. Kushina was only an hour in to labor before the seal trapping the kyuubi no kitsune within her began to unravel. As the Fourth Hokage and only Fūinjutsu master within the walls Konoha during the war, it was Minato who struggled-and failed-to keep the tailed beast locked within his wife.

It wasn't the war that lead Orochimaru to become the Fifth Hokage, nor the stepping down of a predecessor. No, it was the birth of a child and the death that came roaring in to this world with it that forced Orochimaru to take the title of Kage. The village had lost an experienced Jinchūriki to the escaped beast, lost a third of the Nin currently in Konoha and Hundreds of civilians, lost a Kage that was loved and respected and for what? For the title to be taken by a man who would have rather stayed in Anbu and for the creating of an infant, orphaned Jinchūriki.

Orochimaru forcefully shoved these thoughts out of his mind and scowled as he walked around the Hokage's desk, his desk, to deal with the Anbu that kneeled before him. Four squads, that's how many he had sent to complete the S-ranked missions he had assigned them and yet, only ten individuals kneel before him now. He knew there would be casualties from the mission, there always where, but to think that there would be so _many_ left, Kirigakure was obviously weaker then he thought. Orochimaru wasted no time as he addressed those before him. "Report, Have you secured the objectives Bear?" The bear masked operative rose to his full height before gingerly placing the massive scroll on the Hokage's desk and taking a step back. "All seven objects where acquired from the vault of the Mizukage and verified as authentic by field agents." A cold smirk danced across the Kage's face as he began to unravel the scroll till the first seal was visible. Orochimaru slammed his hand onto the seal, pumping chakra into the ink till he was rewarded with a poof of smoke. As the smoke cleared a massive sword dominated the desk, its dark metal reflecting the light from the moon that shown through the window. Orochimaru's eyes scanned the blade, taking in the razor sharp edge, its rounded end, the hole in the middle of the blade near the top and its half-moon counterpart that marred the blades edge and the beautiful black se-

The Hokage's eyes widened as he took in the seal that stained the blade, that wasn't supposed to be there. It was only from the knowledge he had acquired over the years that allowed him to recognize the seal that lay before him, a wielders seal. A seal that only allowed the person who had created it in the first place to wield the weapon that bears it. Orochimaru seethed with rage as he glared down at the weapon, knowing that when the other swords where checked that they too would have the seal. He turned away from the blade as he walked towards the window of his office, looking out over the sleeping village below. "Bear, go to the hospital and retrieve Jiraiya, his goddaughter can wait. Four of you will take the blades to my lab and guard them till I arrive, no one but Jiraiya is to know they are here." Not but a second later and the Hokage was again alone with nothing but his thoughts.

Of course it wouldn't-couldn't-have been so easy, when had anything ever? Still, it was nothing that he and that bumbling fool Jiraiya couldn't handle, the man may have been a pervert but what he lacked in manners he more than made up for in his knowledge of Fūinjutsu. In that term the two complement each other perfectly, fore what one didn't know, the other surly would.

Once again Orochimaru shuck off his thoughts, he didn't have time to stand at a window and get lost in his own mind, he had a seal to creak and he wasn't going to get that done in the Hokage's tower. He wasted no time as he left the office and began to make his why down the spiral staircase, pass the ground floor and in to the basement. Basements in most of the Hidden villages not doubt had some secrets to be keep and the Hokage's tower was no different. He walked up to one of the many filing cabinets that lined the wall and swiftly opened the top drawer before placing his hand under it to activate the seal hidden underneath. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes as smoke filled is vision before he step out of the quickly dissipating smoke cloud that indicated the successful revere-summoned to his lab.

The lab itself looked more like an operating room with enough books and scrolls stacked in it to make any librarian green with envy. Blinding white lights hung from the stone ceiling above while cold steel table lined one side of the box shaped room while sinks, cabinets and counter space composed the other side while the graying tile floor in between was littered with darns. Towards the back of the room was a large stone table adorned with candles and seals with nine vary different weapons resting on it. Anbu's stood at each corner of the table silently awaiting there Hokage's order as they ignored the larger man leaning up agents the wall behind them.

Jiraiya could help but glare at the snake of a Kage as he poofed in to existents on the other side of the room. Only Orochimaru would have the gall to _order_ him away from his newly born goddaughter at a time like this. He had just lost the man how he couldn't help but view as a son, he wanted to spend time with the last piece of Minato he had left, not hang around in some shithole of a dungeon the snake know doubt called home.

"What do you want Orochimaru, you better have not called me here without a good reason! Hokage or not if I'm here so you can stroke you ego then I'm goanna-" Orochimaru simply snorted at his old teammate as he made his way to the stone table. "Always the inpatient one aren't you Jiraiya? Kukuku-no, I have much more important thing to do with my time and there is far too little time for an augment. I need your assistance Jiraiya, operation 'de-fanged' was a success and the leaf is now in possession of the Seven Swords of the Mist. I must say, without your spy network we may have never learned of this little _falling out_ that the Mizukage had with his little swordsmen."

Jiraiya's gaze shifted from Orochimaru to the weapons that lay on the table. There they were alright, why the Mizukage had them in a vault and not in the hand of a new generation of trusted Swordsmen had been a mystery to Jiraiya for serval month until one of his sources claimed that the Mizukage no longer trusted any of his nin that where skilled enough to wield the blades. To do such a thing, was the Mizukage truly losing his grip on reality as some of his sources clamed?

"As even you can see Jiraiya, the Mizukage has placed wielders seals on all seven of the swords, it could take years to brake the seals if we do thing the _proper_ way. That is why you and I are going to destroy those seals by any means necessary."

Jiraiya pushed himself off the wall and advanced towards the table, truly studying the sealed blades for the first time since he walked in the room. The patterns where rather complex for such seals and the brush strokes were superb but it didn't take long for Jiraiya to spot a flaw. "I use to see Kushina make seals like these often when she practiced her brush strokes with Minato, she always said to make small changes in the patterns, and if two patterns are identical then a technique could be used that makes the two objects fuse together to become one, causing the seals to interact and cancel each other out."

Jiraiya leaned over the table as he continued "There are problems with this technique, just because the seal patterns are identical doesn't meant the two objects will fuse together, they might just destroy each other and even if they do fuse it doesn't mean the new objects will be twice as strong as the old ones. If the two object are similar enough then the stronger of the two will become dominate, the powers of the weaker one will still be there but the physical traits will be lost. If there identical then there power increases but there physical form changes." He ran is hand along one the Kiba's handles, he could practically feel the blade vibrate under his fingertips. "For weapons this powerful that have such unique traits as these there will also need to be a master seal to help fuse two of the blades together."

The snake Kage moved his hands over the table before they came to hover over the Samehada. Orochimaru simply let his hand hang in the air as the blade emitted a sound, seemingly growling at him. "And what, pray tell, will you need for this master seal of your?" After all, the blades themselves are proof enough that thing could never be easy.

A sigh escaped Jiraiya's lips as he turned to lean agents the table. "I'll need two of the blades, for the master seal to work it will need to consume two of the blades so that the master seal itself can interact independently with those seals still on the two blade being fused without destroying them. It shouldn't mater which blade I use, but be warned Orochimaru, when the master seal consumes the blades the weapon will be no more."

Golden eyes glared down at the weapons resting on the table, to lose most of the blades would be devastating, from seven swords down- _eight_! The Golden eyes landed on one the Kiba's Jiraiya was examining. The Kiba was a pair of blades but always referred to as one unity, ergo Seven Swords of the Mist and not eight. But both blades had their own seal on them, maybe things wasn't quite as bad as he had originally thought….

"Use the Kabutowari and the Nuibari for that seal of yours Jiraiya, how long will it take before the seal is complete and the blades can be fused?" Jiraiya gave yawn as he stretched his back and began to walk over to one of the many cabinets that lined the wall. "If we start right now we can have the master seal complete in two days, I'll also need to know which swords you're planning on fusing together. Every time the master seal fuse a set together it will begin to deteriorate bit by bit, we'll have to start with the biggest pair first and work our way down to the smallest."

The Hokage stayed by the table, both hands resting on its cold surface before he gave the four Anbu present the signal to help Jiraiya prepare.

Golden eyes danced across the row of blades before them, quickly bring forward facts he knew of the swords. "Kukuku- the Samehada and Hiramekarei will be fused first, they both have similar traits and base types, the two Kiba blades are identical and the smallest, they will go last." In quick succession two pale hands blurred together before a shadow clone of the snake Kage poofed in to existence and begin to make its way toward one of the many exits of the underground lab. The original turned swiftly as he too began to help with preparations. "Then Kubikiribōchō and Shibuki will be second, what powers will you hold, what power will my Nin's wield –Kukuku…"


	2. A simple contract

**Chapter 1**

 **By the way, when I refer to a spare, I mean it in the terms of the Heir (first born) and Spare (second born). It's called that because if the first born dies then you always have the spare to take his place. On with the story.**

* * *

Iruka truly loved being a sensei at the Ninja Academy, it was a place where the young of Konoha who show promise in a future as a shinobi could go to and refined there skills before going on to serve and protect their village. It was an establishment of knowledge with wealth of opportunity, a place of patie-"SHUT THE HELL UP YOU BRATS!"

He was going to lose his mind in this place of screaming children and disrespectful brats.

With a flick of the wrist a piece of chock shot through the air before striking its target, electing a mumbled groan of pain from the black pineapple shaped head laying on the desk. Iruka continued with his questions as he stood in front of the quieting class. "Shikamaru, when did the Godaime Hokage take his title?" Shikamaru couldn't help but rub the sore spot on his head while sighing out a _troublesome_ before giving in to the frustrated Chunin's demands. "Ten years ago Iruka-sensei."

A pleased smile slid across the Chunin's face as he nodded his head in conformation. "That's right, it was ten ago when Orochimaru-sama took up the mantle of Hokage an-" _Baringggg!_ And just like that chaos erupted as young shinobi wannabes vaulted over there desk, dashing out the door and down the academy's white hallways.

Iruka couldn't help but sigh as some of the less enthusiastic children walked out of the classroom at a less frantic rate. ' _One day I'll get a class that is normal, one day…_ '

* * *

Shikamaru gave another sigh as he made his way out of the large red building and in to the warm breeze of the late afternoon air. Another day gone and another day of tuning out Iruka as the Chunin droned on and on about things his oh so troublesome mother had already shoved down his throat. The pineapple headed boy paused at the gates of the academy as sharp eyes meet sharp eyes.

Shikaku Nara, Jonin Commander, head of the Nara clan and father of Shikamaru stood just outside of the gates with his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his standard shinobi pants as he continued to focus on his son.

A guarded feeling fell over Shikamaru as he made his way over to the older man as he tore his eyes away from his father's gaze. The last time his father had picked him up from the academy was when is grandfather had passed away. The Two Nara's stood in silence before the older Nara slowly began to make his way down the street in the direction of the clan's compound with his son lazily trudging along by his side. Nether said a word as they moved through the busy streets of Konoha as Civilians and Shinobi alike went about their day.

"Shikamaru, Your mother's been nagging me that you're not listening to her when she tells you not falling asleep in class" Shikamaru gave a sigh as he tilted his head back to look at the clouds flouting slowly across the noon sky, feeling just as guarded as before his father spoke. It wasn't like the man to bother bring up his mother's nagging habits, especially when it concerned his shinobi training, something else was going on here.

Shikamaru simply rolled his shoulders before replying. "Class is too troublesome."

Silence fell over the pair as the continued through the village before Shikaku shoved a hand in to one of his kunai pouches, pulling out a brown package tied shut with string and presented it to his son. Large callus hands brushed against smaller soft hands as the package changed ownership. Brown eyes widened as Shikamaru felt the weight of the package in his grip, it must have weighed almost thirty pounds. Shikamaru couldn't help but frown as his thumps ran over the smooth brown paper taking note of how soft it seemed to feel in his grasp.

He slowly untied the knotted string before flipping the package over to unwrap the brown paper without ripping it. Inside lay a dark blue hemmed, gray tee-shirt with the Nara clan symbol on the front. Beneath it lay a pair of simple black pants and a standard set of gray ninja sandals. It was the exact same outfit he wore every single day since he started going to the academy, give or take thirty pounds.

The young Nara heir looked up at his father in question as the older man continued to look ahead. "I want you to wear these clothes every day Shikamaru, if you do that then I'll make sure that your mother doesn't hear about you slack off in class, but if I catch you without them then I'm going to tell her how you've been cloud watching in the training grounds instead of going to the park to play with your classmates." Shikamaru face paled as he thought of what his mother would do to him if she knew he had been ignoring another of her so called suggestions. Wear the annoyingly heavy clothes or face the unyielding and unrelenting wrath that was his mother. The paling Nara boy simply nodded his head in understanding as he held the outfit tighter to his chest.

Shikaku only snorted to himself, happy to see that the boy's mother still terrified him enough for him to take the deal without thought or hesitation. That power wouldn't last much longer as he would soon master what the Nara clan considered to be one of their greatest gifts, the power to tune other people out while still knowing what they wanted.

* * *

Jiraiya was going to strangle that little brat one day, goddaughter be dammed! I'll pick you up at the academy and well go to Ichiraku for ramen, that what he said but did she listing? Nope, of course she didn't, that would have made thing to easy for him. She had probably only heard him say Ichiraku and ramen. It wouldn't be the first time something like this had happened.

His suspicions where confirmed as he neared the blonds favorite restaurants, already hearing the demands for more ramen and the joyful laughter of the cook and his daughter. The small ramen bar was empty save for one customer who was too busy stuffing her face to notice the large white haired man as he moved the flaps of the ramen bar aside and walked in, letting the last rays of sunshine enter with him as the sun retreated for the day.

"Dammit Naruko! What didn't you understand about waiting for me at the academy?!" The aged hermit blurted out as he grudgingly to a set next to the girl who continued to ignore him in favor of her rapidly disappearing ramen. Not but two beats later did a tanned face with three black whisker marks appear from the now empty bowl. "Ne ne pervy-sage, you were taking too long!" the blond rattled back as the offend man jumped off his chosen barstool. "For the last time brat, I told you I am the AMAZING TOAD SAGE, JIRAIYA!" Naruko simply stared at her godfather as he stood on one lag and struck a pose before snorting and turning back to the counter. "Hey old man Teuchi, I'll take another pork ramen please!" With a hardy laugh Teuchi back around "You got it Naruko, One pork ramen coming right up!"

Jiraiya could only sigh as he was completely ignored before retaking he's set next to the blond jinchuriki who was waiting impatiently for her food. The two sat there in silences as dusk turned into night, simply letting the sounds of Konoha's night life fill the air around them. Jiraiya couldn't help but eye the already impressive stack of empty ramen blows that graced Naruko's side. He could already feel his wallet getting lighter.

"So Naruko, how have you studies been going?" The old sage asked, already knowing the reply to come.

The sun kissed girl next to him gave a frown as she throw her hands in the air and spun her seat around in circles. "It's soooo boring! All Iruka-sensei talks about is history and junk, where are all the cool jutsu's and stuff! They even made me take a Kunoichi's only class, I thought there were going to teach us some super awesome secrets or something but it was just about flower arrangements and blending in like a Civilian girl! How lame…" The petite girl finally gave a huff as she stopped spinning and put her head down on the counter top as she continued to frown at the man next to her.

"Your Kunoichi only lessons are very important Naruko, you need to take them seriously, you need to take all your classes seriously brat. How are you going to become Hokage one day if you don't graduate from the academy?"

Jiraiya watched in amusement as the young girl puffed out her chest and glared daggers at him. "I'll become Hokage no matter what! Believe it!" The ageing Sannin just shook his head as he leaned against the counter, observing the knucklehead as she dug in to the steaming bowl of ramen that had just been placed in front of her.

There was so much to worry about when it came to his goddaughter, so many things that he wanted to protect her from that he couldn't. How could he protect her when she had chose the most dangerous profession there was? Black eyes steeled over as he continued to watch Naruko inhale her ramen. Yes, he had made the right chose, he would give her every advantage he could, even if that meant playing by Orochimaru's rules.

* * *

Finally, things where finally beginning to happen. He'd been patient, he'd looked at all his options and made the best choses, just like he always did. Ten years he had been sitting on this contract, simply waiting and watching for all the right players to make their move. Now, it was signed. Now he would truly leave his mark on this village, not as a solder but a leader.

"Orochimaru, what have I told you about making that face? People will think you're insane."

Yup, all powerful leader of the village hidden in the leaves and his sensei still wouldn't let him be.

Golden eyes snapped up to meet brown as Orochimaru frowned at his old sensei before rolling up the scroll that lade across his desk. "Don't you have some hard candy to be sucking on somewhere else old man?" Hiruzen merely snorted at his former student, it seemed that becoming Hokage had actually done Orochimaru well. Only Orochimaru could become more open and relaxed by acquiring the title as Hokage. Hell, the daily mountain of paperwork didn't even seem to faze him as it had the rest of his predecessor. Damn showoff.

Hiruzen stood up from the couch he had been previously sitting on as he began to make his way across the dark office that was barely lit by moonlight. It wasn't till he was but two steps away from his old desk that his former student now occupied did he stop. "You seem quite happy with that contract Orochimaru, I have to say, I find it interesting that you choses who you did."

Orochimaru simply snorted as he leaned forwards in his chair. "Really now sensei, it was you how taught us that the only thing more important to any village then stronger shinobi was stable politics. The fact that I will have both powerful shinobi and stable politics was part of the plan."

"Still" Hiruzen mused "I'm interested in how you came to such candidates." The Fifth stared down the Third, nether blinking an eye before Orochimaru's face spawned a frown as the retired Kage smiled. "Very well then old man, ill paly your game." The current Kage relented as he found a more comfortable position in the oversized chair.

"The Nara's where selected for serval reasons. Firstly Shikaku's son holds much promise and if he thinks he can hide his ability's to pursue his goal of mediocrity then the boy is dead wrong. He has what it takes to truly make a difference for this village and if I have to give him some incentive, then so be it." The pale faced Sannin shifted in his chair again before continuing. "The boy is not the only one with promise, his clan is quietly gaining power and influence, it won't be too long before they rank alongside of the Hyuga's and what's left the Uchiha's. This is but another way of showing them my approval of their efforts."

The old Sarutobi stared unblinking as the smile continued to hold its place, causing Orochimaru to lean back in his chair before swiveling around to look out over the slumbering village.

"The Uzumaki was a logical choses, she holds a biju and will have to be a strong kunoichi if she wishes to survive. Not to mention that there are those in the village who would give a great deal to see her do well, I'm simply giving her the tools to do so."

Hiruzen walked around the desk of the Kage to join his student in gazing out the window he was so found of when he had worn the red robs that now adorned said student. "And young Sasuke-kun? What of him?"

Orochimaru sat silently before a snarled smile brock across his face as he spoke.

"Kukuku-how unfortunate for the Uchiha's to lose so many during the war, and to lose Fugaku to the final battle in Kirigakure, who could have predicted such as thing…. Kukuku-there confidences is crushed and all those rebellious thoughts are but blood down the drain. Now that Mikoto leads what's left of the clan it is time I start to rebuild their loyalty to the village. I was tempted to simply use Itachi but with Sasuke I can show I still have faith in their future. It simply helps that Sasuke holds the top ranks in his class, he was the perfect choses."

Nothing was said after Orochimaru finished speaking, both simply watched the village as the moon slide behind the clouds, blanketing the office in darkness.

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha wasn't nerves-nope-not one bit. He was an Uchiha! One of the most powerful clans this village had ever seen! There was no way he was nerves about seeing the Hokage who was simple the most powerfully and influential man in the village.

He felt like he was going to throw up his breakfast….

The day had been rather normal for him earlier in the morning. Wake up, get ready, ask Itachi to train with him because it's the weekend, have Itachi flick him in the forehead and say no. After that it's off to breakfast with his mother as she looks over paperwork involving the clan. It was at that normally boring part of the day when things took a turn. In a rather uncharacteristic fashion his mother had coldly stated that they were going to the Hokage's tower later in the morning and that the Hokage wished to talk to him, personally. And that's what lead Sasuke to his current position, silently standing outside the Hokage's door with he's mother, nether saying a word as they waited for something-anything-to happen.

The young Uchiha's eyes refocused on the door as it opened reveling a short old man whose liver spots crinkled as he smiled at them. "Ah Sasuke-kun, the Hokage will see you now." Sasuke nodded his head in understanding as he stiffly tore himself away from his mother's side as he walked across the small hall and into the office of the Kage. It was but a moment later that Sasuke found himself in the center of the Hokage's rather bland office, bowing stiffly as he tried to reframe from squinting as the sun's morning rays shown directly in to his eyes.

"Kukuku-come closer boy, there's no need to stand so far away from me." The pale man said as he extended an arm, waving Sasuke closer and closer to his desk until the Uchiha spare stood with nothing but inches separating him form the Kage's desk.

"Tell me Sasuke, why do you deserve to be a shinobi of Konoha?" The Hokage suddenly asked, golden eyes pining black with a stare. Sasuke stared back in muted shock as the man's words registered in his head. Was he questioning his ability's? He was the top of his class! He was an Uchiha, not some low class nobody! Before the insulted boy could even open his mouth the golden eyed Kage began to speak once again as he leaned back in his chair, his face taking on a hard look.

"Most do not understand the privilege they are giving when they are called on to protect their homes and loved ones, some don't see the loyalty that must be forged for a shinobi to do as there Kage ask without question. A strong ninja is a loyal ninja, so tell me Sasuke, are you loyal like your brother or weak like your father?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth at the man in front of him, muscles growing tense at the insult to a dead father he never got the chance know.

"My father was a great man! He was strong just like my brother, just like I am!"

Sasuke stilled as he suddenly remembered who it was he was talking to. He stood with baited breath as the Kage pulled out a large scroll from one of his desk drawers, quickly rolling it out till a seal was visible. The Uchiha couldn't help but flinch as his Hokage slammed his hands down on the seal as a cloud of smoke obstructed his vision. It didn't take long for the smoke to clear and a sword to take its place.

The spare couldn't help but look at the blade in awe. The long double edged katana seemed to sparkle in the morning light, its gray hilt just as simply as the bland gray guard that matched it. It wasn't the look of the blade that awed the boy, it was the intense feeling the katana gave of as it lay on the desk. The air grow still as the gently curved metal glowed a soft white, so soft in fact that the Uchiha wasn't even sure he was acutely seeing it. The still air continued to fill the room as nether party moved, simply gazing at the blade before the silences was broken by the Kage's soft tone.

"This is the Kiba, a katana like no other. I have chosen you to wield it Sasuke, for you and you alone to carry out Konoha's will with it, to shoulder the power and burden that it holds. You will pick up this blade and you will not drop it, is that understood?"

The Uchiha boy lifted his arm, his shaking hand moving closer and closer to the hilt of the Kiba until after but a moment's hesitation, he griped the handle.

Sasuke let out a hiss of pain as his grip on the Kiba tightened, tremors shot through his arm as the katana lightly shocked him. ' _Wha-what kind of sword is this?'_ And yet even as the Kiba continued to send its almost gentle flow of electricity up the boys arm his grip remanded true and the blade sat firmly in his grasp.

"Kukukuku-very good little Uchiha, the Kiba is a powerful weapon, you will need to train just so you can hold it without injury, let alone use it properly. Now put the Kiba down and listened carefully, you shale being training with one Hayate Gekko, you will meet him at training ground twenty-one every day you're not at the academy unless he says otherwise. He will train you to wield the Kiba so that when the time comes to train with the blade itself, you will be able to do so. And remember Sasuke, you are to tell no one of this. You're dismissed."

A small hand relinquish the Kiba as it settled down on top of the scroll it had appeared from, with a short bow and head held high the Uchiha made his way towards the door with one thought echoing in his mind. ' _I'll show you Itachi, I'll be just as strong as you, I swear.'_

* * *

Naruko couldn't help but laugh to herself as she looked out of the hole that lead to the small room she had found in the nose of the Third Hokage's carved head. ' _Ha! Those idiots will never find me up here! Best hiding spot ever!'_

"Kukuku-Defacing the Hokage's mountain in broad daylight, quite the accomplishment"

A startled "WHAT THE!?" ripped its way out of the girls mouth as she spun around, taking in the figure sitting on the ground just behind her. He wore robs of red and white that concealed all but his face which was barely visible under the wide brimmed hat that hade the kanji for fire across its front confirming that the man in front of her was the Godaime Hokage.

Fuck.

The sun kissed girl stared down the deathly pale man as time seemed to freeze. The Hokage finely broke the tension as he rolled his shoulders and pulled a large scroll from somewhere behind him, carefully setting it down between them. The Kage began to speak as he slowly unrolled the scroll.

"Naruko Uzumaki: Ten years old and a second year student at the Ninja Academy, you live in your godfather Jiraiya's house but his duty's to the village often calls him away. You rank dead last in your class and show little signs of improvement and yet, from what that fool of a sage tells me, you wish to become Hokage one day." The unrolling of the scroll came to a stop as a large black seal revealed its place on the scroll. "How do you plan to obtain my title exactly, when you can't even keep up with your own class mates?"

Naruko growled at the man in front of her as she took a step towards him. "I'll show you not to underestimate me! Ill become Hokage one day and then everyone will have to stop looking down on me, believe it!"

The golden eyed Kage stared blankly at the girl as he rested his elbows on his knee, cupping his chin with one of his hands.

"My my, so much talk and yet so little action, you need to earn the respect of the village before you become Hokage, not after." The snake like Kage slowly moved into a crouched position, quickly skimming his hand over the seal before a column of smoke erupted in the small room. Naruko gave a hacked cough before the smoke finally cleared.

Naruko's eyes grow to an impossible size as she looked at the thing that lay on the scroll. It must have been at least six feet long and more than a foot wide, it was covered in what looked like lager dark blue scales. Towards one side of the, thing, was what looked like a handle that was made out of some sort of spiraling metal with a tiny skull at the vary tip of it.

"Kukuku-Impressive, isn't it? This is the Samehada, a very special sword, not only for how one uses it to battle but also because it is sentient. Samehada is able to choose who wields it, for those it allows to be used by it obeys loyally and grants power like they never imagined, but those how try to wield it agents its will, well, there are rather unfortunate consequences for them."

The Kage ones again moved to a sitting position in the rather cramped space before continuing his speech.

"I will allow you to try and wields the Samehada's handle and become its owner but if it rejects you, well, that's for me to know and you to hope to never find out." Naruko eyed the sword with a morbid curiosity as she took a step towards, one and then another until it lay at her feet. A look of determination filled her bright blue eyes as she reached down and grabbed the hilt without so much as a second thought.

Naruko almost lost her grip on Samehada as it squirmed in her hand before falling still. The blonde jinchuriki tried to lift the scaled sword off the ground but only managed two feet before the weight became too much and she was forced to drop it.

Orochimaru hummed lightly to himself as he swiped a finger over a part of the seal that still pecked out from under the massive weapon, causing it to disappear in a pool of smoke. "You are not yet strong or tall enough to wield Samehada properly, I will hold on to it until you are ready to begin training with the sword itself. One of my former students, Anko Mitarashi well be helping you train on non-instruction days at training ground nine."

Naruko watched as the Godaime Hokage rolled the massive scroll up before slinging it across his back as he made his way towards the Thirds nostril that acted as the only exit to the hidden room.

"Oh, and by the way girl, if you tell anyone about the Samehada before I hand it over for you to keep, I will make sure it finds a new owner." And just like that the man who smelt of snake's disappeared out of the room, leaving Naruko to plop down to the floor, wondering just what the hell she had gotten herself into.

* * *

Today head been a pretty strange day as far as Shikamaru could tell. His father had taking him out to the clan temple that was located deep in the old growth forest in the Nara estate, sure he still had to wear the weighted clothes and it was definitely a drag but as promised his father had somehow kept his mother off his back, so it was well worth it. After the rather tiring hike to the temple the two male Nara's had spent most of the day playing shogi and cloud watching, only taking breaks from either activity to indulge in some of the snakes that the elder Nara had brought along.

Yup, an entire day of nothing troublesome, just hanging out with his extremely busy father that rarely had a moment of free time. The entire day just screamed suspicious.

What was really going on?

It wasn't till night had fallen over the rather plain looking temple did Shikamaru's time with his father take a troublesome turn.

Shikamaru wasn't exactly sure how long the Hokage had been there, one moment he and his father had been sitting inside the modest open air temple enjoy the peace of the cool night breeze, the next moment the snake Sannin sat before them, a large scroll resting in-between the two parties.

The younger of the Nara's couldn't help himself as he flinched back in shock while his older counterpart did nothing but fix his gaze on the pale man. The trio sat in silences for what seemed like an eternity to Shikamaru. Golden eyes fixed confused brown as Shikamaru attempted to figure out why the Hokage was before them.

The man still wore his robs that indicated that he was here on some form of official business and yet, he didn't seem to be in any sort of rush. Was he hear for his father? Neither men had said a word to each other, not to mention that they hadn't dismissed him yet ether. Did that mean the Hokage was hear for him, was this the reasons his father had brought him out to the temple? And what of the scroll? Did all this also have something to do with the weighted clothes his father suddenly stated encouraging him to wear?

Shikamaru's mussing was interrupted as his father finally rose to his feet and swiftly put a hand on the boy's shoulder to stop him from fallowing suit. The man gave his childes shoulder a reassuring squeeze as he walked past the young Nara heir and out into the night.

Shikamaru's focus snapped back to the man still sitting in front of him as he began to unroll the scroll until an intricate designed seal reveled its self. The silences continued as Shikamaru felt the Kage's chakra spiked as he ran his hand along the seal. The Nara's vision was blocked by the plume of smoke that followed before it began to dissipate, revealing what must have been the biggest sword the young boy had ever seen in his life.

The blade of the sword was at least five feet long with a griped hilt added another foot in length. It was wide to, at least a foot across. The metal was a dark grey that reflected none of the candle light that lite the ageing temple. Near the top of the blade there was a hole big enough to fit a man's head into, which had obviously been designed into the blade with the edges of the hole looked just as sharp as the rest of the blade. About a foot from the hilt there was an indent in the form of a semi-circle that was just as large as the hole on the top half of the blade.

"Do you know what this is Shikamaru?" The robed Kage asked, electing as shack of the head from the baffled pre-teen. "It is the Kubikiribocho, sword with a history bathed in blood."

The sound of crickets filled the air as Orochimaru locked eyes with the young Nara boy. "Tell me honestly boy, why do you waste Iruka-sensei's time with your lazy refusal to do work and slake off instead?" The tone was neutral as it left the man's lips. Shikamaru could hear the blood rushing through his ears, his mind froze as he gave his answer without thinking. "It's too troublesome, Hokage-sama…."

A slender eyebrow lifted as the snake Kage tilted his head to the side.

"Too troublesome? No, it's troublesome when a mission fails because my ninja's didn't train hard enough. It's troublesome when you watch a teammate's lover brake down because you weren't fast enough to save them. It's troublesome Shikamaru, when you are forced to bury your loved ones because you found it to be too much of a drag to try harder." The air was suffocating as the Hokage's eyes pierced Shikamaru to his very soul.

"It's infuriating when someone lets there talents go to waste because they simply couldn't be bothered."

The temple was deathly quiet as the crickets stopped there chirping. The Nara boy squirmed under his Kage's glare as he felt it become harder and harder to draw breath. "The Nara's are an impressive clan when there young don't find it to troublesome to put true effort in to their shinobi careers. If you wish to stay in my academy then grab the Kubikiribocho hilt, take an oath to train every day with your father until you are capable of training with Kubikiribocho itself, wield the blade in the name of your clan, improve you ranking in class and make a difference in my village, and if not, well then Konoha has no use of you."

Shikamaru's eyes widened as he absorbed the Kage's demands. This isn't what he wanted in life, he wanted an average life, with an average family. He looked down at the blade in front of him that suddenly seemed to dominate the room. His hands trembled as they sat in his lap, eyes fixated on the blade as his mind whirled with static. Arms moved, eyes narrowed and figure in the dark sighs.

His hands grasp the hilt.

* * *

 **Authors note or something**

 **This chapter, like the last, was rough. The chapters to come will be more Shika focused. If you have any comments feel free to review.**

 **Mahalo, popcornsutton**


	3. A fawn by any other name

**Chapter 2**

A hellish combination of sweat, blood and pain was but some of the many things Shikamaru could have used to describe the last year of his life. Some might have said he was overacting but for a Nara childe, any day that didn't consist of at least three naps was a day best forgotten.

Ever since he had accepted to become the Kubikiribocho's wielder a year ago when the Hokage visited the Nara clan temple, things had changed. Not just for Shikamaru but for the entire Nara clan. Gone were the days where a Nara academy student or Genin could simply lazy around the compound and enjoy a quiet evening away from the rest of the troublesome village.

The Nara boy scowled as he thought about all the training he had been forced to do as he sat in the shade of a tree, enjoy his small ten minute brake. While it was true that he saw and felt the effects the training had on his body and while the increased strength, stamina and chakra control was nice it didn't mean he had to like it.

Sure, the clan still took the chance to lazy around whenever they could, not even the Hokage and all his might could change that, but still, all this training was a real drag, especially for the young heir. While the others only had to train as a group for four hours every week, Shikamaru, as the clan heir, had to train for seven hours every day he didn't have classes at the academy. Which just so happened to be today.

Shikamaru frowned as he looked out over the Nara clan's private training ground, watching some of his younger cousins run around the field that bordered the old growth forest in the noon sun. It didn't take a genius of any caliber to see that they would have rather been doing anything else then run laps.

The Hokage had been serious when he said that he would be expecting more out of the Nara children.

"Shika! Breaks over, get back to swigging that branch." Shikamaru sighed as he left the shade of his tree. "Ya ya grandma, I'm on it. Man, what a drag." Swing the branch, back and forth, up and down, side to side. Shikamaru ground as he hefted the eighty pound branch off the ground and began the training that his grandmother and father had drilled in to his head.

"Did you just back-sass me boy?! I'm nothing like you lazy Nara's, you may be getting stronger but I can still kick the crap out of you, you little brat!"

"Sorry grandma" was Shikamaru's only replies as he continued his task, sweat already beading down his forehead in the hot noon sun. What was up with his family and marring such troublesome women? Why couldn't his grandfather have found a nice average woman to settle down with instead of the hell beast? First his grandfather, then his own father, why couldn't men in this clan just find and marry normal, non-troublesome women?

Shikamaru pushed that line of thought out of his head has he concentrated at the task before him. He'd been working on, as his grandmother liked to call it, his swinging big things around like a madman skill. It was rather simply really. Get big branch, swing said branch like his father had taught him, get yelled at by grandma. Simply? Yes. Easy? No.

"Alright Shika that's enough of that for today, get that lazy bum of yours over here so we can work on your chakra control. And I swear if you bitch about not having the energy to do it like last week I'm going to make you run an entire lap around the village!"

Troublesome.

The young Nara heir shoved his hands in to his pocket as he took in the small old woman as they walked past the tree line and in to the forest. Her gray hair bounced back and forth in its short ponytail that fell over the green robs she wore. Shikamaru was just glade she didn't have that old person smell that some of the village elders seemed to radiate. He looked up from his mussing as the pair entered the small clearing in the forest.

It was a place that Shikamaru always liked to visit, even if he only came here to train on his chakra control. The clearing was small, only about ten feet of clear space in any direction that was blanketed in soft grass and small rocks.

"Alright Shika, where going to do something a little different today. Come, sit down an-Shika! When I said set down I meant by me!" A sigh parted the Nara's lips as he complied. "That's better, now as I said where going to something different today so look here."

Shikamaru watch as his grandmother reached for one of the pebbles around the tree they were sitting under. Picking up the pebble she gently placed it on her pointer finger before giving the small rock a spin as her grandson looked on. Round and round the small stone went. Two minutes later a Shikamaru was beginning to wonder if pebble was going to stop anytime soon.

"This training exercise is rather simple Shika, put the pebble on your finger as you pump a little chakra to said finger, spin the pebble and keep it spinning by gently using your chakra to flout in just above your fingertip. Too much and it'll go flying off your finger, too little and it's just going to fall to the ground."

The young Nara simply nodded his head as he picked up a pebble, placed it on his finger as he gave it a spine and…

It immediately drop to the ground.

"You truly are your fathers child aren't you Shika…" The two sat in silence as they stared at the small stone that had just falling to the ground. "Hey!" the boy's grandmother shouted to get his attention. "Just because you sucked on your first try like your dad doesn't mean you can stop! Get back too it, where not leaving this spot until you make some improvement!"

Shikamaru sighed as he picked up the pebble, once again placing in on his finger and giving it a spin only to have it go shooting of his finger and flying harmlessly in to the forest.

"Again Shika!"

At least he could sit down for this.

* * *

Two days a week Anko Mitarashi had Naruko run with weighted sacks strapped to her back. That was but one of the fun part of preparing the girl for her training with the Samehada, and while it was called a blade it had to be wielded more like a bat mix with a cheese grader rather than a proper sword.

The Tokubetsu Jonin grunted in annoyance as she watched the sun sink below the tree line. One year she had been training this twerp and she had to say, she liked the kid. Strong, determined and a fire cracker personality put the pigtailed haired girl in her top ten don't accidently kill for touching my dango list, which was quite the achievement in and of itself.

And yet still the brat couldn't create a half decent Bunshin!

Every single one always came out wrong. To short, no color, hell! Some didn't even have a faces sometimes. But the girl still kept trying and because she kept try Anko kept trying to teach her.

It had taken Anko some time to figure out what was going wrong. It wasn't a failure to make the proper hand signs or a lack of understanding on how the technique worked but rather something that surprised the purple hard shinobi.

Naruko Uzumaki had too much chakra.

The girl used a little chakra just like she ate a little ramen which was to say nothing short of a shit ton.

Sure, Anko knew of the girl's furry roommate and heritage but still! No one that young should have that much chakra.

So Anko did what any teacher would do in her situation, have the girl practice her chakra control. Of course that was easier said than done as the only thing that seemed to exceeded Naruko's chakra levels where her energy levels. Tring to get the girl to sit still had been a nightmare.

But let it never be said that Anko Mitarashi was a Kunoichi that never gave up and she was going to get this girl to sit still and make those fucking leaves stick to her forehead even if it killed her! Or her wallet…

"Okay brat" Anko had said "I'll tell you what, for every leaf you keep on your forehead for one hour using the technique I taught you ill by you one bowl of ramen"

Naruko's eyes widen as her stomach growled, the prospect of free ramen too much to bear as the girl rushed to the pile of leafs Anko had made her gather, trying to stick five to her forehead in one go. Only to have all but one fall to the grass below.

And so the pattern repeated its self, day in day out, week after week and month after month with Naruko's high score peaking at a dismal ten leaves over the course if an hour.

Of course Anko had tried talking her former sensei in to letting her teach the girl how to wall walk, after all it took far more chakra to preform and there for was a perfect starting point for the young Kunoichi in training.

But the Hokage wouldn't hear any of it, simply going on and on about how one shouldn't rush the sharpening of a kunai just like one shouldn't rush the training of a shinobi and bla bla bla.

Anko tore her eyes away from the setting sun as she looked back over to her temporary student as she swung the long metal poll at the training log her teacher had liberated from Might Guy.

"That's enough Naruko, I don't feel like standing here all night watching you attack a log. Let's go get some dango and call it a night."

The blond headed girl quickly came bounding over to the older woman. "But Anko-Onee-chan I want Ramen!" the young girl shouted not but a foot from the cringing adult.

"Well guess what brat, as long as I'm the one footing the bill I'm the one choosing where we go. So get your ass in gear and let's go!"

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha considered himself a lot of things and happy just so happened to not be one of them. Hayate Gekko had been preparing Sasuke to wield the Kiba and so far it had not been what Sasuke had been expecting.

Besides practicing with a wooden katana and chakra control training Hayate had been training him to use his lightning release. Of course the Uchiha had been happy to hear this, it would mean that he would have more jutsu to use and then his brother would finally train with him

Haha, ya, no.

Instead of teaching him jutsu Hayate had stated that they would simply get Sasuke's body use to the lightning infused chakra that the Kiba gave off.

And so for the past year most of Sasuke's weekends where spent with him getting a small but rather frequent shock from Hayate as a way to prepare himself for his real training.

This frustrated Sasuke to no end, how could he get stronger if they didn't teach him jutsu's? How could he ever gain his brother respect if he didn't learn at the same pace he had?

"Sasuke? What are you still doing awake, you have class tomorrow" Itachi asked, interrupting Sasuke from his sulking as he walked in from the hallway and into his little brothers room.

Sasuke gave a huff as he flipped over on his bed to face the wall. "It's only ten, it's not like I'm tired anyway."

The older of the two brothers walked further into the room till he stood before Sasuke's and took a seat. "I'll tell you what, if you go to bed now, Ill train with you next Monday, deal?"

Sasuke filliped around so fast Itachi worried that his brother would break a bone. "Really, you'll real train with me!" Itachi nodded his head as he gave Sasuke's hair a ruffle.

"Now go to bed Sasuke, you have school tomorrow."

The younger boy nodded his head vigorously as he rolled back over and pulled the sheets up to his chin, willing Monday to come faster.

* * *

The sun cheerfully seemed to mock Iruka through the academy windows as it rose over the village hidden in the leaves. The Chunin basked in the peace and quiet of the morning as he watched some of his students make their way to their seats. Iruka's eyes traveled to the rows in the back of the class and found one Sasuke Uchiha looking out the window, no doubt steeling himself for the onslaught known as fan girls.

Iruka had high hopes for the boy and wasn't sure how to feel about who he had been developing as the years went by. As far as class work went the Chunin was more than happy with his progress but it was his personality that worried Iruka.

The boy tended to have the holier than thou attitude that most of the surviving members of the Uchiha clan lacked. And while Iruka had seen the kind side the Uchiha boy had he doubted that any of his other student even know about it because of Sasuke's rather ugly attitude.

The teacher's eyes slide down further as the came to rest on the front row where two more students sat.

All the way on the right by the large windows sat Naruko Uzumaki in her bright orange jacket and black shorts.

Her behavior over the last year had concerned him at first, as far as he could tell she only pulled a prank about once a month now instead of what had seemed like almost every other day. And while see still didn't always listen in class there was an obvious attempt on her part.

She was growing quieter though and that's what scared Iruka the most. She was still loud and as blunt as ever but there was a noticeable different from last year. Gone where the loud, almost daily shouts about becoming Hokage, they were still there but had only happen about five times the entire year.

Her grades had improved as well. Sure she was still near the bottom when it came to any of the writing test or assignments but most ever other grade had made a leap, moving her from dead last to somewhere in the middle of the class.

He had confronted her about it over a bowl of ramen several weeks ago but she had just brushed it off say that she was to buys training to become Hokage instead of just saying it and while that had made Iruka prouder then the girl could have probably realized he knew that the idea wasn't her own. She was much to inpatient to form that thought by herself.

Finally Iruka looked three chairs down from Naruko to Shikamaru, probably the biggest mystery of the class. He still looked uninterested in most everything and looked like he was about to fall asleep at any moment and yet, he didn't. Almost a year had gone by and he hadn't seen the boy sleeping in class once.

His grades had skyrocketed too, going from right above failing to on par with Sasuke's. Iruka had always known that Shikamaru had what it took to excel in class but to actually see him do it was still a shock.

He no longer sat in the back row like he used to, now only sitting in the front as if to prove a point. The boy still never volunteered for anything which put the Chunin at some easy, part of him glade to see that the boy was still lazy.

The man sighed as he heard the rest of his students come racing down the hallway, standing up as he willed himself to refrain from yelling at the children to rein them back under control.

Fat chance.

* * *

Shikamaru yawned as he left his house, using the moonlight to make his way down the path before him. After dinner his dad had informed him that his grandmother was at the deer pens by herself and that he wanted him to be there to help incase anything came up.

The Nara boy yawned again as he entered the well-lit yet mostly empty pens, the deer roamed free around the Nara property and where only brought to the pens if there was something wrong with them. He spotted his grandmother by one of the smaller encloses and started making his way over towards her.

"Oh Shika, what a surprise to see you here, I guess that lazy father of your sent you instead of coming himself hmm?"

Shikamaru simply shrugged as he leaned up agents the fence like his grandmother before looking inside to see a small fawn huddled in the corner by itself.

"Poor little guy" his grandmother exclaimed "His mother rejected him, if it wasn't for your uncle being in the area at the time he probably would have been dead by now."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes as he looked the fawn over trying to spot anything that could be wrong with the baby deer. Besides the absence of the mother and the heard there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the little guy.

"What's wrong with him? Was it a first time mother or something?" The elderly woman simply handed the boy the fawn's charts in reply.

The Nara tilted his head has he looked over the charts. Just as he thought the fawn was in perfect health, nothing abnormal about him at all. Shikamaru flipped the page to look at who the parents where.

The father was one of the larger stags that roamed the property so it was no surprise there why the fawn looked as good as it did but that still didn't explain why the mother had rejected it.

Shikamaru flipped the page again as he looked at the mother and was again meet with confusion. This fawn wasn't her first, the records showed that she was a seasoned mother that had raised quite a few fawn to adult hood.

"And you're sure a wolf or something didn't spooked her off?" His grandmother simply snorted. "Absolutely boy, your uncle watch as she rejected him. So, you looked at all the data, why do you think this happened?"

Shikamaru when back to looking at the fawn, thinking over what he knew. There was no reason for this to happen. The fawn was strong and the mother was experienced.

"Unlucky I guess" was the boy's final answer as he looked to his grandmother.

She nodded her head in confirmation.

"Sometimes Shika, you do everything right but you still fail. You do nothing wrong and your still punished. There will be moments in your life where you be like that fawn, neck deep in shit not because of something you did but because of the actions of others."

The old lady turd to her grandson as she continued. "Life going to be cruel Shikamaru and no matter what you do, how smart you are or how hard you train nothing is going to stop that."

"I know you're unhappy with how things are turning out with your training so far but you'll simply have to bear it till, well, you're a shinobi, you'll most likely have to deal with it till the day you die."

They both stood in silence as Shikamaru processed what she said and realized why his father had sent him to meet her.

"I just want to know why the Hokage was so interested in use grandma, why all of a sudden?" the boy questioned.

The older women simply shrugged her shoulder. "You want the answer so you'll have to find out for your self Shika, this isn't some D-rated movie where you can figure out a person's whole life be knowing what they eat for breakfast. Things like this take time, even for a Nara."

She pushed herself away from the pen suddenly and started walking to the path that lead to the clan houses.

"Now come on boy, there's a Go board with our names on it back at my house and there's no way I'm going to lose to you this time around!" she shouted as she stormed up the path with a much slower Shikamaru lazily fallowing behind.

* * *

Orochimaru smiled to himself as he looked over the report that Iruka had given him. He'd quickly skimmed over most of them, making a mark here or there if something caught his attention but now there where three reports left.

He pulled the first report closer to him before adjusting the small table lamp that suppled the only light for his otherwise dark office. It was night, he was alone with no one to bother him. Perfect.

Sasuke Uchiha was the name at the top of the report and it wasn't until he was more than half way through did his smile turn into a frown.

He was still the top of his class, still thrived to learn and prefect what he already knew. None of that was a problem, it was his attitude on the other hand that got Orochimaru's attention.

The boy had a stick up his ass when in front of his classmates and most everyone else he came in to contact with but according to Iruka there was a different side to the boy when he was around family.

What went wrong? He had made sure that all the remaining Uchiha's where level headed and humble. And yet in one year the slightly cocky boy had tuned in to the classic Uchiha that had driven him to such drastic actions.

That simply wouldn't do.

He didn't work so hard a eradicating that behavior from the clan to have it simply crop up again because some kid thought he was hot shit. He would have to do something to correct that. More importantly he'd have to make sure it didn't blow up in his face. No point in fixing the handle if it breaks the blade.

The Hokage abandoned the thought as he reached for the annual report by Hayate about the Uchiha's progress.

The Hokage's frown retreated in to a neutral look as he read. The boy was doing well with his training but showed impatiens when it came to the speed at which Hayate taught him, constantly complaining that they weren't going fast enough.

But none the less Hayate was confident that by the time Sasuke became a Genin he would be ready to begin his training with the Kiba.

The pale Kage pushed the two reports away as he reached for the next report that read Naruko Uzumaki in the top corner.

Improved grades and improved attitude, overall Orochimaru was happy with the girl. All he had to do was give her a little push in the right direction and she had done the rest. She was just like here mother, which could be a good thing or bad thing depending on where the future lead.

Give her the right teacher and she would go far.

And speaking of teacher it seemed that Anko only had praise to sing about the girl, while she may have had her short comings with her chakra control she had more than enough determination to make up for it.

She would go far indeed.

Orochimaru reached for the last two reports knowing that they would belonged to one Shikamaru Nara.

Hmmm, the boy had defiantly shown that he was a Nara, he was now one of the top students in his class and there were no mentions anywhere of him falling asleep during class. True he never when above and beyond unless asked for it but it was still an improvement.

According to his father's report his training was coming along just fine, his taijutsu was lacking but the boy would be ready to wield the blade in training.

Orochimaru turned off the lamp and leaned back in his chair as the room was engulfed in darkness. While they were a year away from graduating and being placed on teams the thought still called to him. What to do, what to do?

He could put them all on the same team, no doubt they'd by a power house but they all had such different personalities and his own Genin team when he was young was proof enough that differing personalities could destroy a team no matter how good there teamwork was.

He could always put them on different team but that still left a bad taste in his mouth or maybe it was the team thing in general. Sure part of Konoha's straight came from teamwork but because people tended to be with the same team for a good majority of their lives it tended to make it difficult to effectively split team up.

As time when on there would be infighting among the newly formed team till it finally hit a tipping point and caused the team to have a fundamental breakdown.

Maybe a new way was needed?

* * *

 **Author's note**

 **I'll be the first to admit that this chapter was a rocky one but I still felt that, while short, it was important non the less. You'll be seeing less Sasuke in the chapters to come as while he has the Kiba he's more of a main supporting character.**

 **It be longer for chapter 3 to come out since I'll be somewhere more comfortable plot wise and I want to take my time to get it just right**

 **Leave a review if you feel like it, or not.**

 **Mahalo, popcornsutton**


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